“Hold the line, Love isn’t always on time.”
These are words immortalised in the late 1970s by the popular prog rock band Toto, and in a sense they still ring true today. Okay, so your business might not offer love, but Rosanna on reception can’t talk to more than one person at a time on the phone, so when the switchboard lights up she has to politely ask callers to “hold the line.”
This is the reason why you have an on-hold capable phone system. Your customers have taken the time to call you – they’re a warm prospect, not a cold lead! And you can’t afford to take the gamble that they’ll just call back later if there’s no answer or if they get a busy signal, because they may not.
There are measures you can take to encourage your callers stay on the line. In many offices the phone system is connected to the radio so that when a caller is invited to hold they can listen and sing along to bands like Toto to help pass the time.
Radio Licensing Fees
But did you know that the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) requires businesses to pay an annual fee to plug the radio into your on-hold phone system? Depending on the number of phone lines you have this fee can set you back thousands of dollars per year. (It may even be cheaper to arrange for Stevie Wonder to literally call to say he loves you than it is to rebroadcast his song from the radio to your callers while they wait)
If your organisation has more than one office location, you’ll be stung with separate licence fees for each of those places of business. If you choose to risk it and not pay the fee, you could face significant legal hassle and fines.
Save Money and Market Your Business through Phone Messaging
The best solution to avoiding these mandatory licensing fees is to employ a message on hold service. Not only do you save money not having to pay fees to APRA, but many businesses have identified that the time that a customer has to spend holding the line is a prime opportunity to market themselves to their callers.
Your company may compete with others in the local area, or perhaps you offer multiple speciality services. Whatever the case, the overloaded switchboard has provided you a unique opportunity to make your organisation stand out from the crowd.
At Jonny Jingles we’ll tailor-make an on-hold recording that best suits your business. What’s more, all of our packages are offered for just a one-off fee. Our productions are 100% royalty-free, meaning there are no ongoing licensing fees and your production is yours to keep! So ring, ring, why don’t you give us a call and ask us how we can turn your on-hold system into the marketing machine that it can be.
“Here’s my number,
So call me maybe” 1300 653 149
Call us now! 0424 649 722